Cardrops: The Car Becomes A Mailbox

Cardrops is a new, smart package delivery start-up from Belgium. Instead of using your mailbox, the post office or other central delivery points to deliver the stuff you bought online, Cardrops uses the trunk of your car to drop off packages.

“Most people have a smart locker in front of the house — their car”, explain the founders. And “although we drive them around, cars are still parked 90% of their time”. A special GPS tracking system, developed by the company, looks up the real-time location of your car and sends delivery straight to your car, wherever it’s parked.

“Simply select Cardrops as your shipment method during checkout. Cardrops opens your trunk remotely the moment our trusted delivery partner arrives. We securely lock your car and keep you updated via SMS. No hassle, no worries. Driving around to pickup points and postal offices is so nineties, don’t you think? With Cardrops we want you to just enjoy your new goodies.”

Based on the GPS data that the car sends out, Cardrops’ system is able to create a heat map of the exact locations where your car is parked the most. Based on the daily and weekly routines of the car, Cardrops automatically predicts ahead when your parcel can be delivered. Also a Cardrops beacon will be linked with the car in order to enable Cardrops to lock/unlock the trunk or doors. Clients pay €99 for a starter kit, and every individual delivery costs €4.95.

Cardrops is an interesting innovation that tries to find a solution for a huge inconvenience — waiting for packages, whether it’s at home or the office. With Cardrops the concept of the mail box has changed. The future mailbox is movable in terms of space and in terms of time. It doesn’t need to have a direct link with your address any more, but travels around. And as Cardrops delivers 24 hours/day, their service is extremely flexible time-wise. Although lots of people might find it difficult to give others access to their car, I think this service is an interesting contribution to many people’s lives.

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